Work In Progress: Glade Creek Grist Mill, Update 8

 Now that the background sky is in, the next step is to add the background trees. The background trees are important as a backdrop for the Mill but not important in themselves. Therefore, I don’t want a lot of detail in the trees. I want them suggested but not the star of the painting.

            The first thing I did was draw in the trees and branches on the right side. Then I applied liquid masking to the bridge, the Mill, the two deciduous trees in front of the bridge, and the branches and trees on the right. Once the masking fluid was dry I mixed up a gray color for the background trees – a combination of winsor blue, permanent rose and new gamboge. I added just enough permanent rose to give the gray a sight violet tint to keep it cool. I applied the gray mix in a number of washes, wet in wet, making sure the paper was thoroughly dry in between. I also put in the washes irregularly, darker here, lighter there, to indicate the varying value changes in a grouping of trees. The areas near the tops of the trees, where the tree density thins out, I thinned he wash, leaving the light of the sky to show through.

            As I added layers I defined the tops of trees here and there to add a bit of interest. A number 2 fan brush worked well here.

            As I added more layers of the gray mix I darkened the lower part of the tree mass behind the Mill and the bridge to define them more. At one point, as I darkened the lower background behind the Mill, I felt the upper part seemed too light, so I added another layer near the top. The tree mass behind the Mill may need further darkening and definition, but I’ll wait until later in the painting process to decide that.

            When I was satisfied with the value of the background trees I went back over it with a slightly darker value to indicate tree trunks and branches. I also spritzed some of the gray mix onto the background with a toothbrush to get more texture in.

            Every once in a while I stopped painting to assess the background. Was it dark enough? Was there enough detail, but not too much? It is a bit hard to tell at this point because all I have on the paper is the sky and background trees. The tree mass takes on an importance it doesn’t deserve at this point because there isn’t anything else there. With nothing else competing with it, it becomes the main attraction. When everything else is added it will once again return to its supporting role. So I refrained from adding any more detail at this point, electing to wait until much more is added. When the Mill is in and the foreground is in I’ll then have a better idea whether to add more to the background trees. I removed all the masking from the painting.

            With the background completed (for now), my next project is the Mill and bridge. The first step was to pencil in the details of the Mill – and that can be seen in the final photo. Next week the Mill should be finished – or nearly so.